What a rack!

ColbyG

Mrock4 wrote: »

Good man! I was definitely inspired by other folks on here who were building theirs too. It helps to see others going that route as opposed to dynamips or rack rentals. Those other study methods certainly have their place, but I suppose it's just personal preference. I would love some 3560's, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I might replace two of the 3550's next year (about 3-4 months before my attempt), if money allows..those things are expensive. Maybe we can help each other out as time progresses, Orlando isn't TERRIBLY far. Let me know when you want to take the INE bootcamp in Tampa with me

Man, I was looking at INE's site yesterday. I'm tempted to try that bootcamp in March. I'm going ask my boss if they'll pay for it, which I seriously doubt. I can't really stomach dropping $5k of my own money. The one in November makes more sense, that way I can knock out the written before messing with a lab camp.

Not sure if I'd be able to take the time off work for training. Even if I used my own PTO, I don't think they'd be cool with that many days in a row.

Mrock4

ColbyG wrote: »

Not sure if I'd be able to take the time off work for training. Even if I used my own PTO, I don't think they'd be cool with that many days in a row.

I hear ya. I'll be attending most likely in March 2011..give or take a month or so..a lot depends on what they have available and where I feel my prep is. I'll be funding it all on my own, unfortunately. It's a lot of money, but it will pay off eventually. I'll have approx 2 months of paid leave during the timeframe I want to take the test, so that is probably the optimal time to go to the bootcamp..

I'm probably getting way ahead of myself, though. Gotta pass the written first.

ColbyG

Mrock4 wrote: »

I'm probably getting way ahead of myself, though. Gotta pass the written first.

I'd take the bootcamp tomorrow if I could, and I'm at least a few months off the written. I think the bootcamp would help a lot with the written and you can resit whenever you want. I'd definitely do it again before the lab.

Forsaken_GA

ColbyG wrote: »

You've inspired me to build a physical CCIE lab.

I'm sorry, did the apocalypse call in while I was asleep?

ColbyG

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

I'm sorry, did the apocalypse call in while I was asleep?

Make no mistake, I'll still be using my Dynamips box, probably more than the physical lab to be honest. But if I've already got most of the stuff laying around, I may as well have a physical INE topology too.

Mrock4

UPS does ship today! The status changed last evening to show that they left from Jacksonville last night, arrived in Tampa this morning, and are out on delivery right now.

HOWEVER, I work tonight, so I'll be gone when they arrive. As soon as I get home from work (it will be late), I'll be tearing open those boxes and working hard to get it all racked quickly. I might be bold in saying this but, look for pictures before 8am tomorrow morning!

Forsaken_GA

ColbyG wrote: »

Man, I was looking at INE's site yesterday. I'm tempted to try that bootcamp in March. I'm going ask my boss if they'll pay for it, which I seriously doubt. I can't really stomach dropping $5k of my own money. The one in November makes more sense, that way I can knock out the written before messing with a lab camp.

Yeah, I hear you. It's going to hurt dropping the $3.5k for the INE CCIE 4.0 program later this year (hope to god they run a good discount deal between now and September), but I'm willing to do it. I'll probably be willing to drop the $5k for the bootcamp closer to lab time though, when it will probably do me the most good

Not sure if I'd be able to take the time off work for training. Even if I used my own PTO, I don't think they'd be cool with that many days in a row.

Hehe, I think work is going to be pissed when they realized I sandbagged them by requesting PTO for October in January. NANOG is holding a meeting down here first week of October, and I *know* the senior will be attending, so we'll be both be, erm, 'unavailable' at the same time. Hopefully the server nerds can avoid breaking my network for a few days.

TheShadow

Mrock4 wrote: »

UPS does ship today! The status changed last evening to show that they left from Jacksonville last night, arrived in Tampa this morning, and are out on delivery right now.

Yep I just checked when I read this. Mine says out for delivery. My spare pair of toners already arrived by Fedex but UPS never delivers until after 6. I think they must have me listed as The last house on the left.

Just need to drop by the supply store and get some larger binding rings and I'm set. The wife uses the binder more than me. I hope that I don't make an idiot out of myself trying to do it on my own. Even duplexed a couple of these are going to be large.

Mrock4

UPS normally delivers after 6 here too..think we are the last stop on the route. Today they came at about 3:30pm..great!

So yea, all the stuff has arrived. Let me put this out there first:

Cables and Kits +1
CiscoKits 0

Not impressed with ciscokits...

Will post pics tonight.

ColbyG

My rack is almost complete. I need another 2500, so I'll grab that tomorrow. Here's a terrible pic:



Hope you don't get mad I'm whoring up your thread, Mike.:D

R1 - 2610XM
R2 - 3640
R3 - 3640
R4 - 3725
R5 - 1760 (might replace this one)
R6 - 2801
FR Switch - 2621 + NM-8A/S
SW1 - 3560-48
SW2 - 3560-48
SW3 - 3550-48
SW4 - 3550-48
Term Server - 2512 + 2514
BB1 - 2501
BB2 - 2514

Going to grab another 2501 from work for BB3. Need a ton of WIC-1Ts too. I doubt I'll do the cabling until after I move (two weeks).

Mrock4

ColbyG wrote: »

Hope you don't get mad I'm whoring up your thread, Mike.:D

That's OK, we'll share thread views..just remember who made you

So, I was in a hurry when I posted my last thread. Here's the deal. I ordered my 3640's from cables and kits, and I ordered the 2600's and term server from cisco kits, and the rest from ebay.

Cables and Kits order arrived on time, professional looking packaging, routers looked brand new. Everything was perfect..except I didn't get any M&M's. Bastards.

CiscoKits order arrived late (not totally their fault), and 5 routers + cables were in the same sized box that C&K used for ONE 3640. Lesson here? C&K packs their stuff WELL..ciscokits had a layer of bubblewrap between each router. The routers were pretty beaten up from ciscokits. They were obviously very used.

The only thing I will give to ciscokits is that they responded very quickly via e-mail to any inquiries I had throughout the process..so kudos to them on that one. That being said, C&K was also on the ball with customer service..


So now, I have in my possession:

All the routers/switches/brackets/octal cables/rack/some modules.

Right now, what I'm waiting on us:

2 more WIC-1T's, NM-4T, two 2E2W's, and 1 FE module, and my serial cables which are all on the way. Not too bad, but I really can't do much cabling until I receive all of that stuff.

Tonight after I get off work I'm going to get everything racked up and figure out how I want them all placed. Originally I was going to place them all front facing out, but since they're in a corner, it'd be a pain to get to the modules and to alter cabling, so I'm going to flip the mounts around and mount them with cables exposed..think it just makes more sense. Again, pictures will be up before tomorrow morning.

In the meantime, I'm off read more TCP/IP Vol I, and some cisco docs.

Mrock4

ColbyG wrote: »

Going to grab another 2501 from work for BB3.

Just caught this. In INE's topology, BB1 is actually the frame switch as well as functioning as BB1..so you only need two BB routers, not three. You're good to go

I purchased a third 2500 to use as my "wildcard", just to move it around wherever I see fit, but technically it's not needed. Check this page..

CCIE Lab Preparation Resources

Note how it shows "BB1 / Frame relay switch"

Mrock4

Finally, I have it all racked up. Absolutely zero cabling is done and I'm still missing a few modules. I just focused on getting it all in place and where I want it.

Without further ado...

All I gotta say is..it's bedtime. Tomorrow I may start on the CAT5 cabling..it depends on how ambitious I am. I'm going to make every CAT5 cable, so it's going to take awhile. Goodnight!

Forsaken_GA

I wish I could hear the cry of anguish when you realize you mounted your 3640's backwards

ColbyG

Mrock4 wrote: »

Just caught this. In INE's topology, BB1 is actually the frame switch as well as functioning as BB1..so you only need two BB routers, not three. You're good to go

I purchased a third 2500 to use as my "wildcard", just to move it around wherever I see fit, but technically it's not needed. Check this page..

CCIE Lab Preparation Resources

Note how it shows "BB1 / Frame relay switch"

Yea, I know that's how they do it, but I'd rather have a separate device. I'm using 2600 as the FR switch. If I wanted it to act as BB1 also, I'd need even more WICs. I'd rather get a free 2501 from work.

Forsaken_GA

ColbyG wrote: »

Yea, I know that's how they do it, but I'd rather have a separate device. I'm using 2600 as the FR switch. If I wanted it to act as BB1 also, I'd need even more WICs. I'd rather get a free 2501 from work.

No you don't. I'm assuming that 2600 with what looks to be an NM-8A/S is what you'll be using for it. The configuration for BB1 has 6 links for the first 5 routers (2 of them go to R3), the 7th link to R6, and the 8th link to BB3. You have exactly enough interfaces for it to act as both BB1 and the frame relay switch. I know this because that's how I have it setup, I use an NM-8A/S in a 2620

ColbyG

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

No you don't. I'm assuming that 2600 with what looks to be an NM-8A/S is what you'll be using for it. The configuration for BB1 has 6 links for the first 5 routers (2 of them go to R3), the 7th link to R6, and the 8th link to BB3. You have exactly enough interfaces for it to act as both BB1 and the frame relay switch. I know this because that's how I have it setup, I use an NM-8A/S in a 2620

orly? I thought all 8 ports were used on the FR switch + the two spares?

Forsaken_GA

Newp. Their specs call for a 2522, so yeah, it's got 10 ports, but if you look at the config for BB1 here:

http://www.ine.com/downloads/bb1.txt

You'll S7 and S8 are shutdown, so 8 serial ports is all you need

ColbyG

Awesome! Thanks, now I have room for another power strip.

Mrock4

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

I wish I could hear the cry of anguish when you realize you mounted your 3640's backwards

You'd be waiting a long time. I was well aware of how they were mounted long before I added in the rest of the gear. I was kind of indecisive about how the 3640's would go, and just kind of decided to leave them as-is.

Got the rack fired up finally, and started configuring the terminal server. I'm trying painfully hard to keep the cables managed well, which is difficult with the Octal and power cables alone...that being said, I've ordered a second horizontal cable management shelf, which will go above the 3550's, Not really a necessity but it'll certainly keep things semi-neat.

That being said, I've got to hop off here and work on IOS upgrades. I have a feeling it'll be a couple of weeks till everything is in the shape I want it to be.

Mrock4

Alright, need some help fella's. Got the Octal/power cables all wired up, got the 2511 configured (as far as I know)..this is the first time I've configured a terminal server, so I could very well be doing something wrong.

Basically, here's what I have done: Configured transport input all on the line con 0 for both the end devices (ie: R6), and the terminal server. I did the same for the vty lines on the terminal server. I configured a loopback interface on the terminal server, and an ip host pointing to the loopback, with the hostname of the device, and the port to use.

When I enter the hostname (ie: "R6"), it connects successfully, but that's where it ends. I am unable to do anything, and get not even a prompt showing me I'm connected to R6. The only reason I know I am is because the terminal server shows that I successfully connected, and the term server does show the session if I do a "show session". The only thing I can do from this point is a Ctrl + Shift + 6 then X to get out of it, and kill the line manually.

Any ideas? I thought I had it down, but I'm wondering if there's something I missed that'd cause this activity.


In other news, the remainder of the modules arrived today, minus two WIC-1T's. The only thing I'm waiting on now is the new cable tester, and the WIC-1T's. Nice!

cisco_trooper

I always had trouble with the octal cables on my rack. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't. I think I still have an octal cable if you want it. I think I sold my 2509 because I can't find it with the rest of my crap.

Mrock4

cisco_trooper wrote: »

I always had trouble with the octal cables on my rack. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't. I think I still have an octal cable if you want it. I think I sold my 2509 because I can't find it with the rest of my crap.

Hey man, thought you were dead! I'll definitely take it if I can't get these working. If so I'll at least shoot you a few bucks on paypal for shipping or something..we'll see. I have a feeling I'm missing a step or something.

I'm putting the terminal server on hold for now while I work on getting my IOS images all up to 12.4. Most are already, but I have a couple I need to upgrade.

Mrock4

Looks like the terminal server works with the same config but on a different router. Will have to test again tomorrow to figure out why it wasn't working on the 3640.

Forsaken_GA

Mrock4 wrote: »

Looks like the terminal server works with the same config but on a different router. Will have to test again tomorrow to figure out why it wasn't working on the 3640.

AUX port instead of console port? hehe

Mrock4

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

AUX port instead of console port? hehe

I wish..it now seems that the 2600's are the only ones that work via the term server..the 3640's and 2500's don't. That being said, I'm going to compare the configs in a bit and see what's "off". Now that I've verified the term server works, it's gotta be something on the other routers..

I'm hoping to get the term server up today so I can start labbing. I'm still trying to duplicate the INE topology (obviously), but today I may just recable to do some tech labs.

In better news, got all the IOS' upgraded..only had two to complete, both went off without a hitch.

Mrock4

So after my run in with the NVRAM issue, the 2511 is operating..somewhat. I've narrowed the problem down a little. It appears that lines 1-4 on the octal work fine, regardless of which router they're placed on. This eliminates the thought that it could be a router config problem, or a problem with the access server. It seems to me that any lines 5-8 don't work, or it may be an issue on the actual ASYNC interface.

OK, so no matter which set of octal cables I use..cables 5-8 do NOT work. Funny thing is, this issue is independent of whichever ASYNC interface I use..so basically..

ASYNC 1-8: Only 1-4 work

ASYNC 9-16: Not one works

ANY thoughts? I'm at a loss.

Forsaken_GA

do you only have 4 lines configured?

Mrock4

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

do you only have 4 lines configured?

In the term serv, I got "line 1 16", then transport input all, and no exec. It seems it has to be something on the 2511, but I don't know. I'll be on more later tonight, I can mess with it more and post the config..been sick for a month now and today it came back with a vengeance..

tiersten

When the 2511 boots or in show ver, does it actually see all 16 async lines? The 2511 I've got is missing a couple screws from the bottom which secure the daughterboard that does 9-16 and it had shaken loose during shipping. Open it up and check if yours is correctly plugged in.